Invisible Interactions: Communication Guidelines for Caregivers Facing Dementia-Induced Subjective Realities

Dementia is a complex disease comprised of multiple stages, causing it to present differently from person to person. While many people characterize people with dementia as forgetful, this symptom is often coupled with one or more of the following: decreased competency in communication and language formation, impaired judgment or reasoning, a hard time focusing attention, and impaired visual and auditory perception. In light of these symptoms, it is not uncommon for an individual with dementia to experience mild hallucinations or subjective realities. While research with dementia patients has been conducted to observe how communication competencies are affected, as well as what communicative strategies may be utilized while completing activities of daily living, communication tactics utilized specifically when caring for patients experiencing some form of subjective reality has not yet been explicitly investigated. This is an important topic, as approaches to hallucination and delusion can significantly impact a patient’s perception of, and engagement with, their surroundings and caregivers. This study aims (a) to shed light on what types of communicative strategies those caring for individuals with dementia use to bridge the gaps between their residents\u27 environments and their skewed perception of them, and (b) to establish guidelines that caregivers may implement in their everyday practice

The Walls Within Our Classrooms

Sinful hearts are prone to build walls that cause others to be excluded, but God has given us the ministry of reconciliation (II Cor. 5:18) that we are to bring to our classroom communities. Posting about breaking educational barriers from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. https://inallthings.org/the-walls-within-our-classrooms

Lent: If They Keep Quiet, the Stones Will Cry Out!

Here, during Jesus\u27 final week on earth, the Pharisees were vividly confronted with the truth that Jesus, the promised King and Messiah, was right there - in front of their faces. How could that truth be any more obvious? Yet, they missed it! Posting about how easily people are distracted from things that have eternal significance from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world. http://inallthings.org/lent-if-they-keep-quiet-the-stones-will-cry-out

New Way of Living in the World

In the fleeting moments of his time here on earth, Jesus showed his disciples that their fruitfulness is dependent on their connectedness to the vine. Posting about ­­­­­­­­fruit-filled Christian living from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world. http://inallthings.org/a-new-way-of-living-in-the-world

Bridge-Building in Sioux County

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Alex Vasquez, director of Young Life in Sioux County, about his work in the community. He is speaking from several platforms that allow him to serve as a “bridge builder” between cultures within Sioux Center. Posting about ­­­­­­­­partnering with immigrants in our communities from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. https://inallthings.org/bridge-building-in-sioux-county

Let\u27s Build Something Biblical

More and more families are ignoring God\u27s mandate to train our covenant children in the instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4) and are choosing to educate their children in secular institutions because they do not see the value of Christian education. Why is this? What can we do about it

Advent: Clearing a Path for Christmas

The idea of preparing the way of the LORD is a word picture that reveals to us that the real preparation for Christmas must take place in our hearts. This is the preparation that demands our focus so that we may rightfully acknowledge the deep significance of the coming of our Messiah. Posting about dealing with distractions during Advent from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world. http://inallthings.org/advent-clearing-a-path-for-christmas

Case for Foreign Language in the Elementary School

Our students are learning and growing in a rapidly changing world that is far more globally interconnected and culturally diverse than we had envisioned at the close of the 20th century. As we are now well into the 21st century, research and test scores consistently reveal that U.S. students are not prepared to take their place as the servant-leaders of their time where opportunities for active participation require the ability to compete, cooperate, and communicate cross-culturally. Research shows that language is acquired best when instruction is initiated in early childhood and sustained over an articulated number of years. Since the 1960’s pedagogical methods for teaching foreign language to elementary students have been developed and refined. The Sequential FLES, FLEX, and total immersion approaches have especially proven to produce foreign language proficiency in younger students to varying degrees. It is imperative that educators have a forward focus based on a biblical perspective of their calling to prepare students for works of service within the global context in which they live. Therefore, it is important that students are allowed the opportunity to become proficient in at least one other world language in order to equip them to effectively and competently acquire the skills needed in order to engage our world today

An Ethnographic Interpretation of Latino Perspectives on Family Engagement in Education

In this period of intense demographic change and educational reform that strongly emphasizes the imperative of family engagement, yet implicates minority culture parents as not being involved, it behooves the field of education to take a closer look at the rigidity that schools utilize in their normalized perceptions and practices of parental involvement. Effective involvement can consist of a number of different activities, but only a few are acknowledged in educational discourse. Therefore, it is important to hear the perspectives of families of other cultures in order to bring to light new understanding that will assist schools in building stronger partnerships with under-served families. Much research surrounding family engagement has been conducted, including some that focuses on immigrant populations. However, engagement between rural northwest Iowa schools and the rapidly growing Latino population has not been studied. At the same time, Iowa academic outcomes for Latino youth continue to lag behind those of the majority population. A possible solution to this issue is to enhance school-family partnerships, but we must also consider the culturally distinct ways that we perceive and practice engagement. This study provided space for the voices of marginalized families to be heard in this important conversation regarding barriers that hinder Latino families full access to partnerships with their local schools. By listening to the responses of the Latino community regarding their perspective on family engagement using in-depth interviews via an ethnographic approach, I was able to uncover new insight that will enhance school efforts to foster a deeper sense of community which could positively impact student outcomes

Planty Organic - Voortgang 2015

2015 was het vierde jaar waarin de systeemontwikkeling “PlantyOrganic” in praktijk is gebracht. Op de zes percelen zijn de gewassen geteeld die voorzien waren en zijn metingen verricht aan bodem en gewas. De gebruikte meststoffen waren geheel afkomstig vanuit het eigen systeem, zoals in het ontwerp was voorzien. De stikstofbinding door de grasklaver, de motor van het systeem, bleef achter bij de verwachtingen. Daardoor waren de totaal gegeven hoeveelheden stikstof ca. 30 % lager dan waar in het ontwerp van uit is gegaan. De bodemstikstof is getoetst met metingen die in het stikstofmodel NDICEA zijn ingevoerd. De match tussen metingen en berekeningen is voldoende tot goed, met uitzondering van een onverwacht hoge meting in de zomer, na een lange droge periode.. Voor haver en pompoen is de opbrengst fors lager dan verwacht. Voor aardappel ligt de behaalde opbrengst in de lijn van de verwachtingen. De peen gaf een hoge opbrengst. Op alle percelen is een groenbemester gezaaid na de oogst van het geteelde gewas. De mineralengehaltes van de gewassen lijken in de loop van deze eerste vier jaren van de rotatie te zijn afgenomen, met name voor fosfaat. Nader (detail)onderzoek naar de achtergrond van deze afname verdient aanbeveling. De mineralenbalansen voor fosfaat en kali zijn negatief. Dat is op termijn geen houdbare situatie. Voor de komende jaren liggen er onder meer de volgende onderzoeksonderwerpen:. Groenbemesters, vlinderbloemigen en stikstofopbrengst Stikstofvoorziening van zomergranen Mineralengehaltes van gewassen in relatie tot bodemprocessen en mineralenbalansen Beworteling van gewassen in relatie tot teruglopende fosfaatgehaltes in de gewassen Bewaarbaarheid van producten in relatie tot teruglopende fosfaat- en kaligehaltes (aardappelen, peen